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Online Academy

ABC Chart: This form allows you to document the occurrence of antecedents, problem behavior, and consequences that immediately follow problem behavior. "A" refers to antecedent, which means the stimulus that immediately precedes a problem behavior. The "B" refers to the behavior that is observed and "C" refers to the consequence, which is the stimulus that follows the response.

ARC: Formerly the Association of Retarded Citizens of the United States. The ARC is the country's largest voluntary organization committed to the welfare of all children and adults with mental retardation and their families. The ARC is a charitable nonprofit organization supported by contributions from the general public.

Abscissa: The horizontal line of a graph. This is also referred to as the x-axis.

Adaptive: Behavior that results in a reinforcing outcome or serves a specific purpose.

Advocacy Organization: A group of people working on behalf of people with disabilities, their families, and individuals who support them.

Antecedent: A stimulus (i.e. a verbal cue, activity, event or person) that immediately precedes a behavior. This stimulus may or may not serve as discriminative for a specific behavior.

Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (ABC) Analysis: A description of the antecedents and consequences associated with targeted behaviors to identify what variables reliably predict and maintain problem behavior.

Antecedent-Related Interventions: The modification of events that immediately precede problem behaviors. Examples include changes in the physical setting, curriculum, or schedule.

Assessment: The process of gathering information in order to make a decision about what actions should be taken.
 
Baseline: An initial data record of a target behavior's occurrence. A baseline is used to compare the initial data to the data collected after an intervention is implemented.

Baseline Condition: A phase conducted during an experiment where the independent variable, an event or variable manipulated by a researcher, is absent. A baseline is used for comparison when the independent variable is subsequently introduced.

Behavior Analyst: A professional whose expertise is in behavioral support. Behavior consultants can hold different perspectives and have different levels of training and expertise. Sometimes a behavior consultant works within an organization. Other times, a behavior analyst is hired temporarily to provide behavioral expertise.

Behavior Consultant: A professional whose expertise is behavioral support. Behavior consultants can hold different perspectives and have different levels of training and expertise. Sometimes a behavior consultant works within an organization. Other times, a behavior consultant is hired temporarily to provide behavioral expertise.

Behavior Support Plan: A written plan that is developed based on a functional assessment of problem behavior. Behavioral support plans contain multiple intervention strategies designed to modify the environment and teach new skills.

Behavioral Definition: A statement that identifies a behavior in clear and explicit terms and allows one to measure the occurrence of a behavior.
 
CEC: The Council for Exceptional Children is a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted.

Case Manager: A professional who serves as a point of contact for an individual with disabilities or a family. This person seeks out and coordinates resources, monitors progress, and communicates with the person, family, and other professionals.

Coercion Theory: Coercive interactions develop between two people when one person engages in a negative behavior to achieve a social outcome and the other person responds in an equally negative fashion. The ongoing exchange between the two individuals increases in intensity until one of them gives up. The origin of this hypothesis is associated with G. Patterson and M. Sidman.

Communication Skills: The set of skills that enables a person to convey information so that it is received and understood. Communication skills refer to the repertoire of behaviors that serve to convey information for the student.

Consequence: A stimulus (i.e. a verbal response, the acquisition of a reinforcing item or activity) that contingently follows a behavior. For instance, if a little girl's crying results in attention from her teachers, then teacher attention would be considered a consequence that followed the crying behavior.

Consequence Interventions: Strategies that address the stimuli (i.e. a verbal response, the acquisition of a reinforcing item or an activity) that contingently follow a behavior. Two strategies can be used when problem behavior occurs more frequently than appropriate behavior: increase reinforcement for appropriate behavior, and decrease reinforcement received for engaging in problem behavior.

Correlational: The covariation of two or more variables that indicate the likelihood of a common relationship or interaction between those variables.
 
Developmental Disability: A chronic disability which is attributable to a mental or physical impairment. It is manifested before the person reaches age 22 and is likely to continue indefinitely resulting in a substantial functional limitation and reflecting the person's need for care and treatment. Common developmental disabilities include mental retardation, and autism, among others.

Direct Assessment Strategies: A variety of tools that involve observing a student to clearly identify when problem behaviors occur, what happens right before a problem behavior, what the problem behavior looks like, and how people respond to the occurrence of problem behavior. Direct observation data help develop a hypothesis statement about why problem behavior occurs, and confirm that the hypothesis is correct.

Direct Observation: Observing the student to clearly identify when problem behaviors occur, what happens right before a problem behavior, what the problem behavior looks like, and how people respond to the occurrence of problem behavior. Direct observation data help you develop a hypothesis statement about why problem behavior occurs, and confirm that your hypothesis is correct.

Disruptive Behavior: Behaviors that do not result in injury or serious property destruction. Examples of minor disruptive behaviors include talking out of turn, not paying attention, or refusing to work on in-class assignments.

Duration: The time elapsed between the beginning and ending of a targeted event. The recorder may be interested in the length of time a specific behavior occurs.

Duration Recording: The measurement and documentation of how long a specified behavior lasts. This system is often used when behaviors are continuous rather than short discrete events.

Empowerment and control: The perception that one is in charge of his or her destiny. Many students with disabilities do not have opportunities to make choices in their life by using their own judgment and discretion on a daily basis.

Endogenous Opiates: An internally produced (within the brain or other body tissues) morphine-like substance that results in a feeling of euphoria. Commonly associated with "runner's high."

Environmental Events: The physical setting, routines, activities, and individuals surrounding a student. Environmental events are the specific situations that exist within a setting during a given time period.
 
Fading: The systematic, gradual removal of prompts that promotes an independent, uncued response from a learner.

Frequency: The number of times a behavior occurs in a specified observation period.

Function: The consequences that are related to maintaining the occurrence of a behavior. Documented functions of problem behavior include (a) attention, (b) desire for activities or items, (c) escape from attention or activities, and (d) escape from or obtain physiological stimulation.

Functional Analysis: Documenting a functional relationship between the occurrence of problem behavior, antecedent, and consequence events through direct observation and the systematic manipulation of environmental events.

Functional Assessment: Also known as Functional Behavioral Assessment. The process of collecting information in order to develop hypothesis statements regarding the variables that maintain and predict problem behavior. Functional assessment strategies include indirect assessment methods, direct observation, and functional analysis.
 
Gustatory Stimulation: Any stimulation related to the act of tasting or the sense of taste.

Hypothesis Statement: An end product or summary of the functional assessment. A hypothesis statement provides information about environmental events that may increase the likelihood of problem behavior, the environmental events that precede problem behavior, and the probable function of the problem behavior.

IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the parallel statutes of many states guarantees the right to a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment for students with disabilities. The law applies to all students between the ages of 3 and 21 who qualify for special education and related services. Local school districts are held responsible for identification and initial evaluation of each student, and interdisciplinary teams work with the student and parents to generate an annual individualized education plan (IEP).

Inclusion Facilitator: A school staff person who assists regular and special education teachers include students with disabilities into regular education classrooms and within the regular education curriculum. This person often has a background in special education and may be a resource to general educators on matters pertaining to special education, environmental and curricular modifications, and IDEA.

Indirect Assessment Strategies: Gathering information about a student and the behaviors of concern from reports of people who know the student. Interviews, record reviews, quality of life measures, checklists, and rating scales about the student's behavior are all considered indirect ways of obtaining information. These strategies are often the initial step taken in the functional assessment process.

Individual Family Service Plans: A plan of intervention for preschool-age children and their families. An IFSP includes information regarding the child's developmental level, the family's strengths and needs, agreed upon outcomes, specific interventions, and delivery systems necessary to accomplish the stated outcomes.

Interdisciplinary Team: The team of people from different perspectives or disciplines that join together to problem solve and develop educational and behavior plans. Team members may include the student, parents or other family members, teachers, therapists, community members, job coaches, vocational rehabilitation counselors, and paraprofessionals.

Interobserver Agreement: When two or more separate observers record data while observing the same behavior to assure that a measurement system has a certain level of believability. This may also be referred to as interobserver reliability.

Interspersing: Alternating the presentation of two different types of activities.

Interval: Previously selected periods of time of which there is a clear beginning and end.

Interval Recording: An observational notation system that takes a predetermined period of time and divides it into a number of shorter intervals. The observer records whether or not the targeted behavior occurred in each successive interval.

Latency: The amount of time between the stimulus and a behavior. For example the time between a request (please put on your shoes) and the action (putting on shoes).

Maintaining Consequence: The specific stimulus that occurs contingently upon the presence of problem behavior. Collectively, these consequences represent the function maintaining problem behavior.

Multicomponent Intervention Plan: A comprehensive behavioral support plan that contains multiple strategies to address problem behaviors in settings where problem behaviors occur.

Off-Task Behavior: When a student is not engaged in or working on a preselected task or activity.

On-Task Behavior: When a student is engaged in or working on a specific task or activity.

Ordinate: The vertical line of a graph. This is also referred to as the y-axis.

Outcomes: The results of an intervention. In positive behavioral support, desired outcomes include an improved quality of life in addition to reductions in problem behavior.

PBS (Positive Behavior Support): A comprehensive set of strategies that are meant to redesign environments in such a way that problem behaviors are prevented or inconsequential, and to teach students new skills, making problem behaviors unnecessary.

Paraphrase: To restate or reword something that has been said by another person in order to confirm your understanding of the information.

Paraprofessional: A teaching assistant usually connected with a special education classroom or a student who needs intensive individual support in a regular education classroom.

Person-Centered Plan (Planning): The process of gathering information and goal development that has an individualized focus. The person for whom the planning is done is present at the meeting and the input from that person guides or directs the planning process.

Physical Features of the Environment: Elements of the environment which are experienced by physical means. This includes sights (colors of walls), sound (noise levels), smell (paint), and other features such as temperature, number of individuals in a room, and seating arrangement.

Positive Behavior Support (PBS): A comprehensive set of strategies meant to redesign environments in such a way that problem behaviors are prevented or inconsequential, and to teach students new skills, making problem behaviors unnecessary.

Positive Lifestyles: Problem behaviors decrease the quality of life for the student and other people around them. Providing opportunities for students to exercise choice, experience positive social interactions, and to experience stable and predictable environments naturally decreases problem behavior and results in a more positive lifestyle.

Positive Social Interaction: When two or more people have a discussion or interchange that results in a successful experience for all parties.

Primary Communication: A term used to designate a communicative process that a student prefers or uses most of the time. Communication refers to any process used to convey information so that it is received and understood by another person.

Principles of Human Behavior: Principles of behavior describe the relation between behavior and the variables that control it. The basic principles of behavior are the foundation from which positive behavioral support plans are built. Examples of behavioral principles include reinforcement, punishment, extinction, and stimulus control.

Problem Behavior: Behavior such as aggression, self-injury, property destruction, apathy, disruption, and screaming, which impede the learning of the student or the education of other students.

Problem Solving: A systematic approach utilizing multiple perspectives to uncover the issues related to a particular problem, design an intervention plan, and evaluate the outcome.

Psychometric Properties: The elements that contribute to the statistical adequacy of the instrument in terms of reliability, validity, and internal consistency.

Punisher: A consequent stimulus that reduces the probability a behavior will occur.

Quality of life Measures: A variety of instruments for assessing a student's life including predictability, environmental stability, level of social belonging, empowerment and control, well-being and satisfaction.
 
Recording Forms: The data sheets that observers use to document the information gathered from formal observations.

Reinforcement: The state of receiving or presenting a reinforcer. A stimulus that when presented immediately following a response increases the probability that the response will occur again. Can be the presentation of a reward or removal of something unpleasant.

Reinforcer: A consequent stimulus that increases the probability a behavior will occur, or maintains the future rate of that behavior.

Replacement Behavior: A socially acceptable alternative response that results in the same functional outcome as the problem behavior.

Residential Agency: A community-based agency that provides supported living for people with disabilities. The type of home environment and the amount of support provided can vary. Residential staff are often available to provide support and training in daily living skills.
  
Scatter Plot: An interval recording method where data are recorded during specific time or activity periods.

Setting Event: Any occurrence that affects a student's responses to reinforcers and punishers in the environment. Setting events can be due to environmental, social, or physiological factors. Occurrences that affect a behavior at one point in time may change the likelihood of a targeted behavior at a later point.

Setting Event Interventions: Interventions that address setting events involve developing approaches that identify social, environmental, and physiological events that may temporarily alter the value of reinforcers and punishers within the student's environment. Setting event interventions may involve minimizing the likelihood of the setting event, changing expectations on days when setting events occur, or neutralizing the setting event.

Severe Disability: A condition affecting a small percent of the population, in which an individual who is in need of highly specialized education, social, psychological, and/or medical services because of the intensity or multiplicity of their physical, mental, or emotional problems.

Shaping: Reinforcing successive approximations towards a desired response. Shaping is used to teach a new behavior by manipulating the consequences presented.

Social Belonging: The feeling of interdependence and connectedness that results from close relationships within a community or other social network. A sense of being part of a group of people, a family, or a team is an important human experience that many individuals consider an important quality of life issue.

Social Network: A web of interconnected people who directly or indirectly interact with or influence the student and family. May include but is not limited to family, teachers and other school staff, friends, neighbors, community contacts, and professional support.

Stimulus: Anything that elicits or evokes action in a person or creates a response in a muscle, nerve, gland or other excitable tissue or organ of the body.

System: A set of related or interacting variables which function together for a specific purpose. Systems are dynamic and often change over time.
  
TASH: The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, is a nonprofit, international advocacy association for people with disabilities, their family members, other advocates, and people who work in the disability field.

Tactile Stimulation: Any stimulation related to the act of touching or the sense of touch.

Topography: The physical movements or description of a motor behavior.
  
Variable: A changing entity of a situation or interaction that directly or indirectly alters the outcome.

Visual Picture Schedule: Provides a student with information regarding the sequence of events or routines he will be engaging in throughout the day. A picture schedule may use words, photographs or drawings to convey information and is a method for providing a student with a sense of predictability and control over his environment.

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